Alleged iPad Air 2 Leak Shows Off One Super-Skinny Tablet

Apple will reportedly introduce its new generation of iPads this month, and the leaks are right on schedule: today's rumour comes from the Vietnamese blog Tinhte.vn, which published a slew of photos of what it describes as a model device.

First of all, if the leaks are to be believed (and we should take them with a grain of salt) the iPad Air 2 will adopt many of the design details of the new iPhone 6. Not only will it have a fingerprint sensor, it will also be just 7mm thick (compared to the current iPad Air, which is 7.5mm thick), similar to the new generation of iPhones. The similarities continue when you look at the volume buttons, which are now embedded on the edge of the device. According to 9to5Mac, the trusty rotation/mute switch has been "sacrificed in order for Apple to maintain desired thickness."

Now, as both sites point out, this model wouldn't turn on and seems to have been a prototype phase device. So we don't know much about the details of its screen or internals, much less the user experience. And it's entirely possible that this "dummy" model is different from the device Apple will reportedly release this month. Still, it seems likely that Apple would borrow the industrial design details of its newest generation of devices and apply them to all subsequent devices—it's about time the iPad got a sleek design update of its own. [9to5Mac; Tinhte.vn]